In Hope We May Draw Our Strength
by tv-addict007
Summary: Hope is a funny thing. It's free for anyone yet one of the most precious things in the world. Like a phoenix hope can rise from the ashes, strengthen the people. With hope there's nothing lost yet. - Full summary inside!
1. Prologue

**Complete Summary:**

 **Hope is a funny thing. It's free for anyone yet one of the most precious things in the world. Like a phoenix hope can rise from the ashes, strengthen the people. With hope there's nothing lost yet.**  
 **Hope is exactly the thing the kingdom of Polis was in dire need of. A few people cling to it and keep their resistance against the corrupt kingdom. Maybe the rise of the last royal member of the original reign can help spreading the hope throughout the lands and finally conquer the evil king.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

It was one of the nicest days in a long time. The sun shone beautifully down onto the ground and there were no clouds in sight that might try to destroy the sunny and warm day. The birds flew high in the sky, singing lovely melodies. The people of Polis were happily gathering at the heart of the kingdom of Polis just for one reason.

Two days ago the princess was born.

King Alexander stood on his balcony and glanced proudly down at his kingdom and its citizen, enjoying the sun on his face. He loved his people and was happy to share this day with them. They were as happy as he was for the little bundle of joy his wife had graced him with. Just like the sun, his heart shone, too. With pride and joy.

He couldn't wait to present his daughter to his kingdom and their people. Later today, the king and queen will celebrate with the citizen, knowing that they were already loving their princess. Alexander already imagined all the things he'll teach his little girl, all the experience they would share while she would grow into the beautiful and amazing woman he knew she would be.

The king turned around when he felt a gently hand on his shoulder, staring directly into green eyes. They had the exact same shade of green his daughter had been gifted with and his heart burst with happiness at the thought of his daughter having the same gentle and beautiful green eyes as her mother.

Queen Alessia was a kind woman. Her heart was pure and full of joy, loving her life. Their people loved her for her kindness and because Alessia spent a lot of time outside the castle, interacting directly with their people. She helped their people not just with orders and words, but with her own hands and Alexander surely wouldn't be the man he was today if not for her.

He loved her long, brown hair, her tall yet feminine figure, the dimples forming every time she laughed. Her laugh was contagious. As soon as she laughed, he joined into it just because she was happily laughing about something. He knew he was whipped, but he didn't care.

Right know Alessia was smiling at him before her eyes flickered to the bundle in her arms. There she laid sleeping. His daughter, Princess Alexandria. She may be in this world for just a few hours, but she already had the kingdom wrapped around her tiny fingers. He had heart several servants talk about little Alexandria and knew that she will be the kingdoms new favorite. It didn't bother him that much, handing over this title to his daughter, she already was his new favorite, too. With time she will be as strong and skilled as he was and just as beautiful and smart as her mother.

Alexandria's future will be bright and filled with love, he was sure.

"Just as beautiful as her mother." He murmured, caressing gently his daughter's hairy head.

Alessia smiled. "She's a little angle."

Alexander wanted to say something but got cut off by a knock on the door. "Come in."

It was Dante, the King's right hand and adviser. After having known each other for over a decade, Dante and his son Cage almost belonged to their family, especially after the death of Dante's wife. Dante had risked his life for his king quite a few times over the years, earning himself his current position at Alexander's side.

Smiling at his ever faithful adviser, Alexander beckoned the other man in. "Dante, my friend. What can I do for you?"

Dante bowed before the little royal family. "My King, your people arrived at the castle and the throne room is set up. It's time to begin with the festivities. The people are excited to meet the newest member of the royal family."

"You're right, Dante. We've withheld our little bundle of joy long enough."

* * *

The throne room was filled with people not only from Polis but also from other kingdoms and their representatives, all gathered to celebrate the birth of Princess Alexandria of Polis. One after the other stepped in front of the fresh parents to offer their congratulations, every one eyeing the baby in the grip that was standing between the king and the queen, unaware of the giddiness of the kingdom as she slept peacefully.

The king almost envied his daughter of her obliviousness. As much as he loved his people, after hours of constant small talk and thanking people for their congratulations, the king was ready to call it a day and retreat to his private rooms and spent quality time with his little family.

As his face came upon a familiar face, his mood lightened and a smile formed on his lips. "Titus? Old friend, are you truly here?" Alexander stood to greet the newest visitor. Titus had been his teacher growing up. He looked the same as the last time her had seen the man. Still hairless, wrapped in a black robe, eyes sparkling with wisdom. Only a few wrinkles betrayed his older age.

Titus had been a true friend while Alexander grew up, transforming from his teacher to his mentor and advisor, having been the one Alexander had valued with his advice the most. He had stood at his side during the Great War with the other kingdoms, working together to archive a lasting peace with all of the thirteen kingdoms.

"Alexander, we have not seen us in a long time." Titus replied as he accepted the friendly embrace of his former student.

"It's good to see you again. No one seemed to have seen or heard of you since the Great War. I worried that you wouldn't be among us anymore."

Titus scoffed and smiled at Alexander. "I may be getting older and my bones crack more than back then, but I'm still no easy target."

"Good to know." The king laughed.

Smiling at the king for a second, Titus let his gaze wander to the little person in the middle of the royal parents. "And who do we have here?"

Alexander puffed his chest proudly, his smile widening as he looked at his daughter. "This, Titus, is my daughter Alexandria."

"Mmhh, Alexandria? I believe she will be a great ruler of Polis in the future."

"You and me both. She'll be the heart of Polis."

"I'm happy for you. And I am proud to have been your teacher. You're the best king I've ever witnessed living in these lands. You're a good and kind husband," Titus nodded at Alessia whom smiled back at him. "You're a good friend to those close to you. And now,….now you will have the chance to be a good father to your little girl."

"Please, don't praise me too much. I just try to be fair and help my people to live a happy life. However, I will-" Suddenly the king got cut off by an arrow that lodged itself into his chest. A scream broke through the crowd before all hell broke loose.

Titus turned around, noticing several armed people who must have snuck in without the guards noticing it. The royal guard immediately attacked the intruders but it was already too late.

The king of Polis lay dead on the ground.

His eyes flickered to the queen who had just watched her husband getting killed, though after a few seconds her eyes caught his gaze and she stood up. She had to protect her daughter. She'll have time to grieve later. Alessia stepped over to the cradle and lifted the now crying girl in her arms. However as she looked up she stared directly at the nocked arrow of one of the archers. She waited in shock for her death, but it never came. Instead, she saw one of the royal guards, a young black woman, striking down the archer.

"My Queen, follow me!" Titus yelled, trying to get the queen's attention. He had to get her and her daughter to safety.

Alessia followed Titus through the halls of the castle. The screams of the victims of the attack could still be heard, echoing through the castle. Her daughter still dried in her arms. They were about to enter another corridor when Alessia felt a piercing pain in her back, stumbling to the ground with a silent cry of pain, yet still careful to not crush her daughter under her weight.

"Titus!"

The man turned around and noticed the fallen queen, an arrow sticking out of her back. A movement caught his attention and he quickly threw the knife he always carried with him at the archer, killing him.

"My Queen, are you able to walk?" He asked as he bend down to try and help her up.

Alessia exhaled painfully, black dots already clouding over her vision. "No, I'm too weak."

"Then I will carry you."

"No!" The woman may be weak and near death, but she called upon all the strength she still had left and gave Titus a determined glare. "I'd slow you down. You have to protect my daughter, Titus."

Titus stared down at the bundle in her arms, the girl still crying though not as loud as before. Coming to a decision he looked back up to the queen and nodded, taking the baby carefully into his arms. However before he could stand up again, Alessia grabbed his arm. "Promise me that you'll look after her, Titus."

He glanced back to the baby in his arms whom had quietened down and was now looking at him with curious green eyes. In that moment he knew that he would never be able to leave a young, lost soul like the princess. "I promise."

That was the last thing the queen heard before the light of life left her eyes and stopped breathing, her dead eyes still staring at the little girl. May her soul find piece in the afterlife, Titus thought as he gently closed her eyes.

The screams had long since ceased and a deathly silence had taken over the castle.

A lot of people died today.

The king and queen of Polis died today.

The day that had been supposed to be one of the best days of Polis would now be forever overshadowed by today's events.

* * *

 **Continuing or not?**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hi guys :D**

 **Finally the next chapter of this story (the real beginning).**

 **A big shout out to CLEXA15 for looking through the chapter! If you have a lazy day and time on your hands, check out her stories. They're great!**

 **I hope you enjoy the update...**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **19 years later**

The black stallion rode like the wind through the deep forest. The wind gliding through the long brown braided hair of the rider. She briefly glance over her shoulder and noticed another rider closing in on her. She spurred her horse faster to put a greater distance between them. She may not recognize the other rider from this distance, but she knew exactly that he was one of the guards of the castle, but she wasn't ready to go back yet.

She led her horse a little more to the right through the thicker forest in hope of slowing down the following rider. As expected he followed her and she smirked, riding even faster than before. She loved challenges like these, knew her way around the forest well enough after so many years to feel secure in her movements. There was no plant she didn't know, no animal she hadn't laid her eyes upon before.

After a few seconds she rode into a thinner section of the forest. As fun as it was to challenge the servants of the castle, she didn't want to endanger them unnecessarily.

Two days ago a storm had raged through the lands. It had damaged a few villages and fields, but it hadn't been as bad as they had feared. However, even the forest didn't stay untouched by it. A few logs graced the forest ground, yet they didn't stop or slow her down seeing that they were no problem for her horse, Kalem.

She heard the other rider closing in on her. The brunette was about to pick up her pace again when a scream of agony echoed behind her. She looked over her shoulder and the other rider falling inelegantly from his horse. The horse seemed to notice the absence of its rider and slowed its pace before stopping altogether a few steps away.

The brunette reined Kalem and trotted over to the fallen rider whom groan as he rubbed against his forehead. She glanced up and saw a thick branch he must have overlooked. The rider looked up to her sullenly and grimaced when he saw her gloating grin.

She knew the other rider. He was one of the latest recruits for the castle guards. "Are you comfortable down there, Charles?" she asked and tried to keep the mocking low.

"My Princess, your presence in the castle is required." Charles answered and got up.

Princess Alexandria rolled her eyes. She would have been surprised if she had for once been able to ride further away from the castle than the forest. As soon as the word got around that she was outside the castle walls, somebody was sent off to catch up with her and escort her back behind the safe walls of the castle. She often had asked for the reasons of this, in her mind, drastic action, yet the only answer she always seemed to get was that it was just for her protection. With the death of the king and the queen, the princess was the last royal descendant. If she died, the family line would be extinguished, throwing the kingdom into a full on civil war.

She had heard many stories of the day Polis had lost its rulers, mostly from her teacher Titus. It was supposed to be one of the greatest days of the kingdom, one people would still talk about many years later. And they did still talk about to this day, just not in the way they had thought they would.

Now this day, the day her birthday was supposed to be celebrated, was a day of grief. When she had still been little, the maidens and servants of the castle had held a small gathering for her to celebrate her birthday. However, when she had become older those gatherings had gotten more irregular and a few years ago she had stopped celebrating her birthday altogether.

Lexa had never grieved like the others. She may have lost her parents on that day, but for her they were strangers. She had heard many stories about them yet couldn't imagine them as her parents. They were just two faces on huge paintings. But the people grieved their death and the other people who had lost their lives on that day, and she didn't want them to feel pressured into putting up a happy façade just to celebrate her birthday. She was a big girl. She could live without celebrating her birthday if it meant that the people could mourn peacefully.

"My presence seems to be always required."

"My Princess, Lord Wallace wishes your immediate return to the castle. He said it is urgent."

Lord Dante Wallace.

Wallace had taken care of her after her parents died, though she had spent more time with Titus. Titus had taught her a lot. He had taught her about the history of Polis, about the other kingdoms and shown her strategical moves. He had taught her to read and write, had been with her at all of her milestones growing up. Wallace may be officially her guardian, but unofficially it had always been Titus and she loved him for being a safe constant in her life. She could trust him with everything.

But Wallace, as rarely as he may have interacted with her, had always been good to her. He had engaged one of their best warriors for her fighting lessons. He had always catered to her wishes, as few as they had been. Though it was clear that he didn't think of her as ready to claim the throne of Polis just yet, Titus constantly exclaimed his disagreement. In Titus' opinion, Lexa was ready to face her duties, yet Wallace always declined it, keeping the position of the temporary ruler.

Irritated, the brunette princess groaned at being summoned back to the castle. But she knew it was pointless to argue. "Thank you Charles for coming to fetch me. Of course I will return to the castle immediately." Lexa moved towards the fallen rider, leaning down towards him. "Oh, and by the way you fell into a bunch of wood nettle plants. Let me tell you, the itching will be hell." Without anything else, she rode back to the castle, smirking when she looked back at Charles whom glanced horrified at the pants around him.

* * *

The double doors to the throne room opened and Lexa marched into the room directly towards Dante whom stood at a bid table beside the throne, studying some maps. "You sent for me, Uncle Dante? It was said to be urgent."

"I was notified of your departure of the castle without proper protection." Dante informed Lexa, giving her a disapproving glance.

"I know my way around the forest. Besides, Anya trained me to be a capable warrior."

Dante sighed. "I know, but if something would have happened to you."

Lexa cut him off before he was able to finish his sentence. "…then the royal blood line would be extinguished. Yes, I _know_. But you can't make me always stay inside these walls, or send guards after me. There will come the time I will be leading this kingdom, yet I haven't been to any of the villages or cities of Polis!"

"You were in Esam already." Dante protested.

Lexa turned her head away irritated. "That is not a hard feat. Esam is just a half an hour ride from the castle. Besides, I had been eleven years old back then and so many guards with me I was almost afraid to breathe."

"Alexandria," He sighed, but got cut off by one of the guards before he could say any more. The guard bowed briefly and moved to whisper something into Dante's ear, Lexa waiting patiently as she watched the exchange between them. She didn't like it at all that Dante may have secrets from her, but until now she always could trust the older man.

As the guard left the throne room Lexa glanced expectantly to Dante, curious to see if he would inform her of the news the guard had told him. However, Dante kept it for himself.

"Alexandria, I am sorry to delay our conversation. But it seems that my presence is needed elsewhere."

"Which conversation? I am relatively sure that you just wanted to begin a monologue about rights and duties of a princess."

"Do not be rude, Alexandria. That is no behavior of a princess." Dante reprimanded her.

"I am sorry, Uncle Dante." Lexa muttered, though it was a rather empty apology. She always made her opinion known to others, the maids had always encouraged her to speak her mind. Though Dante was always one of the few whom didn't like Lexa acting out of the little bubble he seemed to have built around her. She had learnt to keep her comments to herself in his presence, but now and then she just couldn't stay silent.

Lexa briefly considered what she should do when Dante left the room. Anya would be returning to the castle later in the day, meaning that working on her fighting skills was out of question for the moment. She wasn't in the mood for another lecture from Titus, the two hours spent with him teaching her of boring things every morning was enough for her. She also had no further obligations today. Lexa briefly thought about taking Kalem out for another ride, yet thought better of it. It wouldn't be good to annoy Dante any more.

She decided to visit the castle library. She loved to read, especially books about the history about Polis. She even studied the maps of the kingdom, knew where every village and city was located without ever been to one of them.

The brunette went through the many rows of the library, contemplating which book she should choose. There weren't many left she hadn't read yet. As she came to a stop at the end of the third row on the right side, Lexa noticed a book she had never seen before. Her favorite books were all located on the left side of the library and she only browsed through the right side when she was in the mood for an alternation, so it wasn't that odd that she couldn't remember ever seeing the book before.

Still, there was something about it that screamed for her to take it. It had a blank black cover and looked rather worn and had collected quite some dust over the time. Whatever the book was about, it was clear that no one had read it in a long time.

She pulled the book out of its place, blew off the dust an opened it. A few pages in she learnt that the book was about n alchemist who went against his king and its kingdom. As she turned another page a little piece of paper fell out of it and onto the cold ground of the library. Picking it back up Lexa carefully unfolded the paper. It was a letter, though there was no addressee nor a sender. However, her breath caught in her throat as she noticed the date in the right corner of the letter. It was written on the day of her birthday. A strange feeling settled in her gut as her eyes flew over the written words.

 _Received the news. Stay ready. As soon as the sun reaches its highest point, we strike. No survivors as discussed._

Lexa stared stunned at the piece of paper in her hands. She wasn't stupid and knew exactly what this letter was about, albeit the wariness of the words, especially in combination of the date the letter had been written. She had been told that it had been a raid by desperate citizen, a tragedy no one could have foreseen. But obviously it had been planned beforehand. And according to this letter there had been an inside man who had helped the attackers and provided them with information, had helped them kill the king and the queen.

Had helped them to kill her parents.

She had to speak to Dante.

Now.

* * *

 **Comments?**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hi guys,**

 **Finally the next chapter of this story. I apologize in advance, it's certainly not one of my best work. But the next chapter is already halfway finished and it's definitely better than this one. But I hope it isn't too bad.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

The hours passed by quickly and Lexa was still looking for Dante. She had absolutely no idea where he could be. The brunette had searched the whole castle for him and everyone she met and asked if they had seen Dante told her the same, that no one had seen them or knew where he might be. As if the earth had swallowed him up.

Lexa shook her head. Dante had to be somewhere inside these castle walls. She was sure of that since she had seen his horse in the stables. And his personal guards he had selected for travelling were also in the castle. He never left without them.

She turned left into one of the many halls and then right into another one which would lead her back to the throne room. On both sides were numerous doors leading to rooms which had been unoccupied for a few years now. Lexa didn't know which use the rooms had originally but then again, she didn't care much. They had been empty since she grew up.

It was next to one of the many doors of the empty rooms when she heard hushed voices, immediately stopping and getting closer to the wooden door to try and listen who might be inside. The brunette princess was surprised to hear anyone from inside and was a little suspicious.

She concentrated on the voices inside but the one talking at the moment sounded unfamiliar to her. There was a brief break and then she could hear another voice and this time she was able to place it to a person she knew.

It was Dante's voice.

She had finally found him. Now it was no surprise for her that she had taken so long to locate him seeing that she would have never searched in the empty rooms for him. There was no real reason for him to be in there.

Determined to inform Dante of her discovery Lexa opened the door to the normally empty room. Dante was still in the middle of the conversation when he stopped talking after noticing that they weren't alone anymore. "Alexandria?"

"I am sorry for intruding, Uncle. But I have to talk to you. It's important."

"Can this not wait until later?"

Lexa shook her head. "It is about the deadly attack from 19 years ago."

A quick motion with his head told the man Dante had conversed with to leave them alone. The man, who looked like one of their soldiers, left the room without further comment and closed the door behind him, leaving Lexa with her uncle alone in the room. As soon as Dante felt like the soldier was away from hearing range he put his complete attention on Lexa. "Now, what is it you want to tell me that cannot wait until later?"

"I've been in the library when I found a book I haven't seen before. While browsing through it I have found this letter." Lexa replied and held up the little piece of paper she had found in the book.

Dante reached for it and turned towards the window to read the words on the paper. The sun was still shining brightly and its rays were lighting up the room, though she knew that soon they will fade into night. The brunette watched Dante reading through the words before she saw him folding the piece and stared thoughtfully out of the window. "What is it you want to tell me with this, Alexandria? Do you think there may be an inside man in the castle?"

"That's exactly what I think."

Dante remained in his position, still looking out of the window. "And what is it you want me to do now?"

"You don't have to do anything, Uncle. Just don't say anything for some time. I will begin my own investigation. I was just thinking that it would be better to inform you first."

"And how do you imagine finding the ones behind this? There are no hints on this little paper that may lead you into a direction."

Lexa smiled, feeling like Dante was interested in helping her with her search for the truth. "I thought I would start with the book the letter had been put in. It must have belonged to someone."

After another beat Dante finally turned back around and faced his niece again, only now noticing the book the brunette princess was holding in her hands. "Is this the book you have found the letter in?"

"Yes." Lexa stated and skipped through different pages of the book. She stopped however when her fingers came upon two pages that were sticking together. Carefully separating them Lexa took a sharp breathe as her eyes settled on an inscription of the book and a piercing pain ran through her heart.

 _Property of Dante Wallace, Royal Adviser._

The feeling of betrayal rushed through her body, mixed in with sadness and anger. So much anger. Slowly looking back up from the book, wild green eyes fixed on the man in front of her. However her voice sounded calm and collected. "This is your book!"

There was nothing that indicated even just a small spark of guilt in Dante. He was just standing there, looking unimpressed at her. "I know, and it was never meant to fall into your hands."

By now Lexa couldn't stay calm anymore. She was furious, and she wanted Dante to feel it, to see it. She wanted him to be sorry. She wanted him to suffer for the deaths he had caused. "You're the inside man! You're the reason my parents are dead! You provided the information for the attackers and in the end, you're at fault for all those who had to die on this day! Why? Why did you do it?"

She just wanted to understand. Lexa wanted to know why he had done what he did. What was it that led him to such a betrayal? As far as she knew he had had everything, lived a good live and no worries to look after.

"Because your father had been weak!" Dante shot back and moved closer to Lexa. Just like Lexa's, the volume of his voice had increased. "He was weak and too nice. He was too kind-hearted for the throne. He would not have been able to lead a whole kingdom. If one of the other kingdoms would have suddenly decided to take over, he wouldn't have been able to defend his people."

Lexa shook her head unbelieving. He couldn't believe what she was hearing and certainly didn't know how to feel about all that. She felt betrayed by the one person she would dare call family. Well, besides Anya. But right now she didn't recognize the man standing in front of her. "And what gave you the right to decide this? Besides, you are the one that should have known better. My father had led successful wars – with you at his side!"

Dante's response was nothing she had expected as he laughed coldly at her, and Lexa felt a shudder run down her spine. His laughter made her uneasy. "Please! He had only won those wars because he had powerful allies at his side. Without them he would have died a long time ago."

The princess didn't have an answer to that as she stood aghast a few feet from Dante. Her whole world just shattered into pieces of intrigues and betrayals and she was all alone in the middle of it. Dante had been one of the few people she had trusted completely. Now she had to accept the fact that he had betrayed her family only days after her birth. Once again she shook her head, turning around and moving a few steps away from the man she had called her uncle. "I hope you are aware that your deeds can not stay unpunished, Dante."

"Punishment?" Dante repeated and chuckled amused. "I've done the kingdom a favor. Besides, you're the only one knowing about this, and I don't intend to change this fact."

Dante's voice sounded close to Lexa and she whipped around to face him again, surprised to not have noticed his approach. A sharp intake was all that was heard from her as she hastily moved back from Dante, only barely avoiding the dagger being swung her way. "Are you really trying to kill me?! What are you going to tell the people? There are witnesses who can confirm that you and I were the only ones in here." Lexa exclaimed, thinking of the soldier that had been in this room when she entered.

"I tell them the truth. Their princess had suddenly lost her mind and attacked me. I've only defended myself." Dante shot back as he once more slashed the dagger at Lexa.

Moving quickly Lexa grabbed onto Dante's arm stopping the dagger from sinking down into her shoulder. Dante's left hand clasped onto Lexa's throat, squeezing firmly down to cut off her air supply. The brunette moved one of her own hands away from his arm holding the dagger to loosen his grip on her throat, though Dante squeezed more and more and Lexa felt panic flaring up as she couldn't breathe anymore.

Thinking quickly Lexa counter attacked the only way she could and moved her knee as fast as she could, kneeing Dante into his stomach. This surprise attack was enough for him to let go off Lexa and the brunette immediately inhaled as much air as she could while putting some distance between her and Dante.

However his next attack came much quicker than she had anticipated and she could barely avoid the dagger as they both stumbled down onto the stony ground; the dagger sliding out of reach for the both of them. Dante made a move towards it though Lexa grabbed at his clothes and pulled him further away from it in hope to get to the dagger first.

Dante's hand darted blindly behind him, coming to rest on Lexa's face and after a brief second of orienting he pressed down on her eyes and Lexa let go of the man to get away from his reach. This action helped Dante to reach the dagger first.

Getting quickly up from the floor the former royal adviser once again flung the dagger at Lexa but she was already awaiting his attack as she again took hold of his arm. Using the momentum of the attack, Lexa pushed the dagger further down and with her whole strength managed to grace Dante's thigh.

There was a short pained grown from Dante and Lexa briefly saw the red liquid tinting his clothes, though it wasn't a deep wound. Unfortunately that meant Dante recovered relatively quickly and moved to attack Lexa again.

The brunette princess took hold of a nearby chair and threw it at Dante. This little distraction gave Lexa enough time to run to the door and leave the room. The room was too small to fight and since she was unarmed Dante was at an advantage.

Seeing two guards at the end of the hall the princess of Polis rushed towards them for help. She knew that Dante stood no chance against her with the guards backing her up. However she once again underestimated Dante's speed as she noticed that he was already right behind her and not even thinking of letting her reach the guards.

"Guards! Detain the princess, she attacked me!" The order echoed through the hall and the two guards turned around in surprise. To further his statement he had switched from running to limping, gripping at his leg, his pants bloody from the cut on his thigh.

After the initial confusion the two guards instantly assessed the situation and drew their swords to arrest the princess.

Cursing her bad luck as the guards almost reached her Lexa turned and entered the room next to her. The one good thing of growing up in a castle with minimum supervision was the time one could spend discovering the castle from the bottom to the top floor, getting to know the place inside out. Therefore Lexa knew that the room had another door leading out into another hallway, allowing her to get past those two guards.

Yet the two guards were hot on his heels as he darted out into the other hall and was immediately met with the flabbergasted face of another guard patrolling the hall.

"Hey! I need help!"

The guard glanced confused at Lexa, but before the brunette could say anything else the two other guards stormed out of the room she had come from, calling for the other guard to stop the princess. Still overwhelmed by the situation the guard trusted in the two guards chasing after the brunette and tried to stop her.

Thankfully the guard wasn't as agile as she had thought and Lexa had no problems to avoid his grasp and moved around him. Lexa couldn't believe how her originally harmless discussion with Dante turn into a sole hunt for her. It was like everyone in the castle suddenly became her enemy. She may be the princess and the heir to the throne of Polis but she definitely underestimated Dante's influence. Lexa kept running, avoiding hallways she knew guards were patrolling through. She stood no chance against a whole castle filled with guards whom listened to Dante.

Right now it looked like she had lost her pursuers somewhere along the way and the brunette felt like she could finally breathe a little again. But she also didn't know how long it will take until all of the guards were informed and ordered to arrest, so she continued on to hastily make her way out of the building.

Almost relieved Lexa managed to make her way to the stables without any big incident and hoped that the news hadn't spread out to the courtyard yet. Carefully sneaking closer to the stables Lexa glanced around the corner to see if anyone was inside before quickly hushing in when she heard voices getting closer to her position. If anyone would be inside the stable it would be the stable boy and Lexa was confident that she could take her of him without any weapons.

Not wanting to waste precious time the princess walked over to where she knew Kalem's saddle was stored and brought it over to Kalem. Lexa worked as quickly as she could though tried to avoid creating too much noise and attracting unwanted attention.

"My Princess, are you planning to go for a ride?"

Startled by the sudden voice Lexa tensed as she slowly turned around and saw the stable boy looking confused as her. Of course she had no such luck and remain unseen. Taking a deep breathe to calm her beating heart she tried to appear as normal as she could. "Yes, I'd like to go for a ride with Kalem. Our earlier trip had been cut short."

"But it will be getting dark soon, my Princess."

"I know. But I know my way around, you do not have to worry. Besides, I don't plan to stay out for too long." Lexa replied, feeling almost bad for lying to the young teen whom seemed honestly concern for her safety. At least there were still some people around the castle who did seem to care for her.

"If you are sure. I will await your return, then."

"Thank you." Putting the finishing touches on the saddle Lexa smiled warmly at the boy as she passed him on her way out of the stables, pulling Kalem after her. As soon as she was outside she climbed up and rode into the direction of the gates hoping that they were still open for a quick escape.

Unfortunately Lexa had to realize that once again luck wasn't on her side as she saw the closed gates when she turned around the corner, as usual four guards patrolled it. Out of experience she knew that it took around two minutes until the gates were completely open; Lexa would be happy with a minute and just slipping through the small gap.

Riding up to the gates the brunette slowed down and approached the men guarding the gates. The men didn't move from their position, only one of them closed in on her to greet the princess.

"My Princess." The guard bowed slightly.

"Would you mind open the gates for me? I'd like to take another trip."

"Of course, my Princess." Once again the guard bowed before turning to the other guards, nodding his approval to open the gates.

Patiently Lexa waited for the gates to open when she heard yelling behind her. Glancing over her shoulder she saw several guards running into her direction. The guards opening the gates hesitated at the sight and once again Lexa cursed her bad luck. The gates had already opened up though it wasn't enough to slip through yet.

"Open the gates!" Lexa hissed, jumping down from Kalem to run to one of the guards opening the damn gates.

"My Princess?" The guard replied confused, yet alarmed.

Desperation took over as she tried to open the gates on her own, all four guards looking bewildered at the heiress of Polis. She pulled as much as she could but the gates wouldn't move. Looking back the guards quickly came closer.

This was it.

She had managed to work her way through to the gates, only to fail at the last step of her escape.

The guard on the other side of the gates suddenly crumpled down onto the hard ground and green eyes flickered from the unmoving body of the guard up to see Anya standing in his place. New hope flared up in her.

"Pull!" Anya yelled.

Together they pulled the gates open. Freedom was within their reach. However the other three guards took Anya's action as an attack and drew their swords and the impending attack stopped their attempt to open the gates.

While Anya drew her own sword and engaged into the battle with the guards Lexa moved to the one guard laying out cold on the ground and took his sword to help Anya. She never imagined fighting against her own soldiers.

By the time Lexa arrived at Anya's side she had already run her sword through one of the guards, ending his life. Lexa wanted to feel remorse for his death but she shoved those thoughts to the back of her head. Right now, those guards were attacking them and therefore were their enemies.

The brunette parried a hit meant for her blonde friend and pushed the guard further back from the other woman. Surprisingly it was quite easy to hold him up and the princess told herself to thank Anya later for those many hours of hard training units.

The other guards were only steps away from them and Lexa was about to yell at Anya to move towards the gates when she suddenly felt a piercing pain erupt in her back. She groaned and stumbled slightly. Lexa heard a curse and the next think she saw was a knife being thrown at the guard she had fought against.

Out of nowhere there were arms around her, leading her to Kalem. Much to Lexa's embarrassment, Anya had to push Lexa up onto Kalem more than she would've liked. It was a little struggle but the blonde teacher finally got Lexa situated on Kalem.

Anya swung her sword a few more times and climbed up on the horse as soon as she had won some space. She put her arms around the brunette and took the reins, spurring Kalem on. Some well-placed kicks at the guards in her way opened up a path to the gates. Arrows were flying past her and she rode towards the small gap they had managed to open up.

Some guards ran to the gates to close them but they were already too late as the two women slipped through them. Anya pushed Lexa's horse more and more as she was sure the guards would saddle up themselves and begin to follow them as fast as possible.

However, her shoulders relaxed more and more as the yelling from the castle quietened down the more distance they put between themselves and the castle.

From this moment on, they would officially be traitors to the kingdom of Polis.

* * *

 **I'd love to hear your thoughts. By the way, we'll soon have Clarke entering the picture :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hi guys,**

 **I've been quite productive and already finished the next chapter.**

 **Some of you seemed to be quite confused about the fact, that all of the guards were ready to ignore the fact that Lexa was actually the princess and therefore their ruler. But the thing is, Lexa had never been involved in those things. Dante had taken over for the last 19 years, keeping Lexa as far away from any of the royal business as he could and he never really intended to let her descend on the throne. And Lexa had trusted her uncle, as unbelievable as it might sound. Since her parents' deaths, she had always been told that he would handle the things until she was ready to take over. Now, Dante improvised and made her look like the bad guy. Moreover, as a guard you instinctively listen to the man you have followed for almost 20 years. Lexa wasn't too involved with the soldiers/guards, too. They basically know that she exists, lives in the castle and gets educated by a few teachers, but that's it. Some of them might have only seen her once or twice. Dante did a hell of a good job keeping Lexa isolated. Of course, if some would have taken some time and questioned Dante's orders, they might have done differently. But as a guard you get your orders and carry them out. And the Polis in this story is differently than the one on the show. I may use the names of the clans and the characters, but were completely in a different world, medieval times.**

 **I know, it may still sound silly that they are able to turn their own princess, their future ruler, into a traitor just like that. This is just an idea I had a while back and I'm just writing it out. It's fiction and if you don't like it – if you can't look past this silly reason – then you can always stop reading. I don't force anyone to read any of my stories. That's your decision, and yours alone.**

 **What I can promise you is that I'll try to take you on an adventure with many beautiful and impressive places, budding friendships and romances, and fun.**

 **Anyway, enough of my blabbering. Enjoy the update….. or not.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Lexa leant heavily against Anya as they rode at a fast pace through the forest, her eyes half closed. Anya muttered some things under her breath but Lexa was distracted by the burning pain of the arrow wound in her back.

"Where are we going?" Lexa asked, trying not to move too much.

"Somewhere save. At least until we took care of your wound. We have to put more distance between us and the castle."

"Hate to break it to you, but every soldier knows how I look. As soon as I step into a village they'll recognize me."

Anya scoffed. "Don't overestimate the intelligence of some of our soldiers. Besides, I know some people who'll help us."

"You and friends? And here I thought there couldn't be something more shocking today."

"Even in your current state you're able to annoy me to no end."

"Please," Lexa breathed. "You care about me, annoying or not."

"Are you sure about that?"

A lazy smile formed on Lexa's lips. "You wouldn't betray the kingdom and ride like hell to save me if you wouldn't care about me."

"Maybe I just don't want years of training you go to waste." Anya replied and glanced down at Lexa when she didn't get a retort. The brunette's eyes were closed and her breathing shallow. Cursing, Anya spurred on her horse and continued riding to the village she knew she'll get help.

It took her longer than she had hoped but after an hour and a half she saw the first houses of the village. She swerved to the right, not wanting to ride directly into the village. Anya knew she'll get help here, but there would still be soldiers in the village. She was sure that word hadn't spread around yet, but they could give the castle and Dante pointers to where they might be or heading to.

Anya followed a dirty road towards a house at the edge of the woods, a little away from the village. The little wooden house stood proudly in front of the darkness of the thick forest behind. Silence reigned over the house, making it seem vacant if not the movement inside the house wouldn't have caught the blonde's attention. As the rider got down from her horse, careful to not move her younger companion too much, the door to the house opened and an auburn haired girl stepped outside.

"Anya?"

Anya gently cradled the unconscious brunette into her arms and carried her over to the girl and the house. "Tris, I need your help."

"What happened?" Tris asked, already holding open the door for the other two before she collected different utensils all around the house for the injured girl.

"We're being chased. An arrow hit her. I don't think any vital organs were hit, but she lost quite a bit of blood."

Tris moved over to where Anya had put the brunette down and inspected the entry wound at her back. "I think you're right." The girl's eyes flickered to the face of the other girl and frowned, recognizing her from somewhere. Though she only sat there for a few seconds before her eyes widened in shock and turned back to the older woman. "Is that…?""

"Yes."

"That means-"

"The castle guards are after us, yes. And soon every soldier of Polis." Anya sighed. They were still too close to the castle and therefore Dante's reach. They had to cover more distance to them, but they couldn't travel with Lexa's wound being untreated. "We have to take care of her wounds and then leave as soon as we can. Can you help us?"

"Of course." Tris scoffed, almost offended at the suggestion that she couldn't help her friend. "Use the things I just prepared to clean her wound. I go get help." She got up and was about to turn around and leave the house as a hand gripped hard onto her arm, stopping her. Brown eyes stared steely into her own. Placing her own hand on Anya's, Tris gave it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry. I would never endanger you or her. You know you can trust me."

Anya kept her stare for another few seconds before she nodded and let the other girl go. She knew that she could trust Tris, had known the girl since she was little. Tris was on her side, not on Dante's. She hated him like most of the people of Polis. Tris was one of her few links to the rebels, having worked alongside each other on a handful missions for the rebellion. Anya learnt early on not to underestimate Tris because of her young age. These days were hard and anyone whom couldn't fight for their family and friends would find death pretty soon.

The former Polis Guard grabbed the rag and dipped it into the water bucket next to her, starting to clean the entry wound without touching the arrow itself. She didn't want to unnecessarily hurt Lexa. It was time for the rebellion to act and move against Dante, but they would need Lexa for this. Lexa had to step up and take her rightful place, and the people needed to see who they were fighting for and why. They had to know that Lexa was a victim of Dante's games like all of Polis' citizens.

It didn't take long for Tris to return and Anya appreciated the girl's sharp mind and quick actions. Anya knew that Tris would be a great leader one day. The potential was already there. It only needed to be sharped and molded.

Her eyes moved over to the girl following Tris inside the house. She had shoulder-length black hair, chocolate brown eyes and tan skin. Anya mustered her carefully, gauging if she might be a threat, and she couldn't help herself as she slightly moved in front of Lexa to shield her from the unknown girl's sight.

"That's Costia, a friend of mine. She's been working with our village healer for two years now." Tris introduced the other girl, sighing as she noticed Anya's still tense body. "She's fine, Anya. She's belonging to the rebels."

Reluctantly Anya moved back and allowed Costia to come closer and start to take care of Lexa's arrow wound, though still not removing her eyes from the black-haired girl. Better safe than sorry. The blonde woman didn't know how long she sat there watching the young healer working on Lexa when Tris offered her some water. Only as Anya drank some of it did she notice how thirsty she was and downed the contents of the cup in one go.

Tris chuckled and wordlessly refilled Anya's cup before she took a seat next to her, wanting for Costia to finish her work. "What are your plans once she's able to continue travelling?"

"We need to find our way to the compound of the rebellion." Anya replied and inhaled deeply.

Another problem.

Not a lot of people knew where to find the location of the rebellion for security reasons. She may know quite a few rebels, but none of them were high enough in the ranks to know about the compound. She only knew that it was somewhere along the border to Trikru, but that didn't help her much. The border to Trikru ranged for miles on end. They didn't have time to search the whole border for the rebellion.

"Damn. You missed my brother. His group just left three days ago."

For the first time since Costia entered the house Anya's eyes left the girl's form and flickered over to Tris. "Aden had been here?"

"Yeah. Just for a day. We're living too close to the castle for him to stay longer."

"Where did they head to?"

"Aden said something about trading in Belona."

"That's only five days from here. Less if we ride through the nights with only a few breaks." Anya mused, already planning their travel to Belona. "If what you say is true, they will stay at least a day to trade with the other traders. We may be able to catch up with them before they'll leave."

Tris nodded, thinking of Anya's plan. "You may. But not with only one horse. And only if Alexandria is able to ride."

"Lexa."

"Huh?" Tris looked confused to Anya.

"It may be better not to say her name out in the open. I'll always called her Lexa. Let's keep it like that. She'll need a cloth to shield her a little. We can't let her get recognized. At least not until we're safely at the rebellion."

Tris eyes softened. "You care for her."

"She grew on me over the years."

"I'm sure she appreciates you being there for her." The girl answered and glanced back to Lexa. The hard lines of pain on her face have decreased, making it look like she was merely sleeping.

Costia covered Lexa's body with a blanket as she finished with her work, turning around to the other two females in the house. "I've safely removed the arrow from her back and treated the wound. Like you said, she lost a bit of blood, but she should be fine in a few days. All she needs is rest."

Anya sighed. "That's exactly the one thing I can't grant her. We need to ride to Belona and meet with Aden."

"Let's worry about that tomorrow. It's late. We should get some sleep." Tris exclaimed, standing up to fetch some blanket for her guests.

* * *

It was a pretty short night for Anya. She woke a few hours before dawn, feeling a little more rested and ready to begin a new day. Her eyes swept over the other three women in the room, all of them sleeping peacefully.

She quietly stood up and stretched her limbs, thinking of waking Lexa to get a head start but deciding otherwise. They won't get a lot of rest until they caught up with Aden's group, and Lexa needed all the rest she could get at the moment.

A movement outside the window caught her attention, though as she stared out into the darkness that still reign over the kingdom, Anya couldn't detect anything out of the usual. She was about to take a seat next to Lexa, waiting for the girl to wake on her own when she heard it.

Kalem's whicker.

Lexa's horse was well trained and only whickered at few situations. One of them was when danger was upon them. Acting quickly Anya woke the other girls and grabbed her things she had carried into the house before going to bed the night before. Both village girl's grabbed their own things while Lexa carefully sat up.

"How many?"

"I don't know. Probably enough to corner us in." Anya replied, pressing her back against the wall as she spied out of the window to get a better look of the situation outside.

"One of the villager's must have seen you arrive. Words travel fast." Costia guessed.

Tris moved to the back of the house where another door was leading outside towards the forest. She carefully glanced out of the window to see if they were surrounding the house. "There are more horses in the barn. We'd just have to fight our way through to it. No one seems to be out in the back."

"Okay," Anya stated, removing herself from her place against the wall and walked over to Tris, Costia and Lexa followed. "Costia, you'll stay with Lexa. Try to get to the horses. Whatever will happen, you will ride to Belona. Don't look back. Tris and I will follow as soon as we can. We'll try to deter them from following you."

"I don't think it's a good idea to split up, Anya." Lexa disagreed.

"You're in no state to fight, Lexa. You will do as I say."

Lexa however was her usual stubborn shelf. "I am well enough to fight."

Anya whipped around, not in the mood for Lexa's stubborn streak and they don't had the time to start a discussion. She grabbed Lexa on her arm, dragging her over to Costia whom stood close to the back door. "Lexa, you will ride to Belona and find Aden's group. Costia will help you. I promise that Tris and I will not be far behind. But you need to leave. And please, don't stop until you're in Belona."

Lexa and Anya stared at each other for a few seconds, testing each other's wills before Lexa lowered her head and nodded understanding. "I swear to god, Anya. If you die tonight I'll kick your ass."

"Oh, please. As if any of the soldiers could be skilled enough to keep up with me." Anya scoffed, drawing out an endearing smile from Lexa. "Okay, Tris and I will leave first and draw their attention to us while you move to the barn and grab the horses to move out. We'll follow as soon as possible. Trust no one but Aden and his group, do you hear me?"

Costia and Lexa nodded and waited for the other two to leave the house. However, before Anya could leave Lexa spoke up again. "You better take care of Kalem, Anya. I spent a lot of time training him."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of your stubborn horse."

Lexa shoved Anya playfully and watched how her mentor and Tris slipped out of the house. They waited a few more moments until they heard the telltale sounds of sword fights and left the house.

Since it was still dark outside and Tris' features resembled Lexa's for someone you didn't know Lexa personally, Lexa and Costia hadn't much problems on their way to the barn. Lexa followed Costia wordlessly, trusting the girl to know her way around the barn and out of the area.

They led the horses out of the barn and mounted up. Lexa glanced one last time back to the sounds of the fight, yearning to help her friend. But she had promised Anya that she'll follow Costia to Belona, so she steeled her glance and turned back towards Costia, nodding at her. The other girl spurred her horse into a fast pace towards the forest, Lexa hard on her heels.

* * *

 **I hope you liked it. I'd love to hear you thoughts on this one.**

 **Next we'll see what Clarke and the others have been up to :)**


	5. AN

Okay guys, I won't beat around the bush. I've decided to take down this story since it seems there's only negative responses to it. I have better things to do than read plain insults of how dumb this story is and how much of an shitty writer I am. I'm very sorry for the few people who might have enjoyed it so far and I had many great ideas for it, but such insulting comments or messages are very demotivating.

I'll leave this note up for a few days so that everyone who've read this gets informed and then it's gone.

Sincerely,

tv-addict007


	6. Chapter 4

**Hi guys,**

 **First of all, I was really set on deleting this story. It's really frustrating when you spend time writing a story, post it and the first thing you receive a negative comments. I instantly thought, why bother you have other stories to work on.**

 **But then I received all of your beautiful comments showing me that there are some of you out there whom enjoyed this so far. You guys told me to ignore the haters and just do what I like to do. And I really like this story. I probably would have continued writing it, but just for me. Now, after a night of thinking it all over again, I decided to keep sharing it with you. So thank you for everyone who wrote me and encouraged me to continue, ….and beating some sense into me :)**

 **Since I have no other way to thank you than my words I decided to put out the next chapter and hope that you will understand my gratitude. You guys rock!**

 **Enjoy your Sunday :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

The market of Belona was loud as ever, traders screaming for customers to make special offers. There was nothing you couldn't get on this market. It was one of the largest trading places of all the thirteen kingdoms, resulting in the meeting of quite the range of different characters. Stories and tales of the different kingdoms made their way from person to person, creating myths and rumors about this and that.

Clarke shoved her way through the crowd, ignoring the traders offering her different goods. It wasn't her first time in Belona and certainly not the first time on a market as big as this one, though she believed the market in Ocana in Floukru more beautiful. But that was just her personal opinion.

Her eyes swept over the people she passed by, looking for a certain brunette she may trust with her life, but still shouldn't be unsupervised seeing that trouble followed her dear friend. Though if she was being honest, trouble seemed to follow all of them.

Clarke whipped around when she heard her friend's voice from somewhere close, trying to find her in the masses of people. She finally saw her three booths to her left, deeply in an argument with a trader. Sighing, Clarke made her way over to the two quarreling over what seemed to be utensils for forging.

"Are you kidding me? I could get this from any village for half the price!"

The trader scoffed. "Then go and get it from somewhere else!"

"But I am here!"

"Then you have to accept the price I told you."

"That's sheer robbery!"

"Listen you little-" The trader started, but got cut off by Clarke whom put her arms on her friend's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry for my friend. We'll get out of your hair now." Clarke said, pulling the other girl with her all the while the annoyed stare of the trader bored into their retreading backs. "Are you serious, Raven? Do you have to annoy all of the traders?"

"You didn't see the prices! They're horrendous. And I'm not sorry for arguing with traders. That's their job. Trading. And sometimes you've got to argue to settle on a price both parties can live with."

"But we're not here to buy items, Raven. Not this time. We're here to sell the skins our hunters collected. Not spend the money on forging utensils."

Raven stopped and turned back to Clarke. "But we need those utensil if you guys want me to keep working on new weapons."

"You already have more than enough material."

"No one has ever more than enough material, Clarke. Not when there are more and more people joining the rebellion every day! We both know that we'll soon rise against the kingdom, and who'll they be blaming when there aren't enough weapons? Yeah, me!"

"Raven, Octavia and the others are in Boudalan right this moment to get you more forging material."

Raven scoffed. "Please! As much as I love our friends, they have no idea about forging. Those sneaky Boudalan traders could be selling them useless chunks of stone and they wouldn't notice it! I should have gone with them instead of joining you."

"You couldn't. You know exactly that the Boudalan don't trade with _you_ again." Clarke chuckled. "You actually managed to insult all of the blacksmiths who are trading with us."

"Incompetent idiots." Raven murmured under her breath, just loud enough for Clarke to hear. The blonde shook her head amused by her friend's antics.

"Now, come on. I actually wanted to be on the road again an hour ago. The others are waiting for us."

Raven groaned. "Can't we stay another night and ride out in the morning?"

"No, there's something going on. There are more soldiers than usual. I want to get out of here as soon as possible." Clarke replied and grabbed Raven's arm, dragging the girl after her towards the others.

They were almost out of the market place when someone walked into her, resulting in letting Raven go. Clarke turned to the person who walked into her, ready to offer her apologies and continue her way out, however as she looked at the person, all she could see was green.

Forest green eyes stared into her ocean blue ones. She couldn't see much else from the person, a cloth covering her head. But she was sure that it was a girl not much older than her. Curly, brown hair strands looked out of her cloth. She didn't know how much time had passed when she noticed the girl's lips moving, muttering an apology before pulling the cloth further down and continue walking into the direction Clarke and Raven had come from.

"Hey, Griffin. You doing okay? You kind of spaced out a moment ago." Raven asked, a knowing smirk on her face.

"Whatever. Let's go."

* * *

Lexa met Costia at the agreed spot just outside the market, both coming back empty-handed. The black haired girl had given her the description of Aden and both set out individually to search for the young rebel, but there were too many people at the market to successfully search for the one person the so urgently needed to find.

And now Lexa was haunted by a pair of blue eyes. They were the same shade as the ocean. Lexa had seen the look on the girl's face and feared that she may have recognized her, so she left as fast as she could. But those eyes. She just couldn't get them out of her mind.

The girls were currently walking to a tavern Costia knew to be on the side of the rebellion. The chances were good that Aden and his group had spent the night there. And if they were already gone, maybe the host could give them pointers where they might be heading to.

The tavern stood hugely in front of them, the wooden beams playfully interwoven into themselves. Artful windows decorated the tavern tastefully. Loud music could be heard from inside, the smell of cooked meals reminded her that she hadn't eaten in quite a while.

Lexa followed Costia inside, noting a few people sitting in the tavern. The man at the bar cleaned cups as his eyes fell upon them. He looked like a man no one would want to start a fight with. He was tall and muscular, the scar leading from his left eye down towards the corner of his mouth added to his daunting physique.

The man put down the cup and waited for them to reach him, when he spoke his voice vibrated deeply through the room. "Welcome, my ladies. How may I help you?"

"We're looking for our friends. We were told that they would be here to trade, but we are unable to find them. It's very likely that they spent the night in your tavern." Costia told the man, but he didn't react. He just kept staring at her and Lexa almost thought that he wouldn't answer.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I am of help for you. But I wish you luck in finding them."

Costia moved closer, briefly looking over her shoulder to see if anyone might watch them before turning back to the host. "Are you sure?" Lexa saw Costia moving the collar of her shirt slightly to the side, the man's eyes flickered down for a second before moving them back up again and Costia let her shirt go again. "The group consist of six people. Three females and three males. All of them around our age."

"They left an hour ago."

"Where did they go?" Lexa asked.

The man glanced warily at Lexa. It was clear that he didn't like to give them the information they needed, only the strange interaction between Costia and the host a moment ago seemed to have broken through his stone-hard resolve. He looked back to Costia, ignoring Lexa's presence. "I heard that they were heading out through the northern gate."

"Anything else?"

"No. I think it's better you leave now. Walls have ears, even mine." The man huffed and turned to continue his work.

Costia nodded and signaled Lexa to follow her back out of the tavern. They hastily made their way back to where they had left their horses and rode towards the northern gates and out of Belona. Two miles away, they saw a group of people riding away from Belona in the distance, their pace not too fast but not comfortable one either. It was clear that they wanted to put distance to the city.

They picked up their pace and closed up to the riders in front of them. The group rode in pairs down the road, not noticing the two following riders until they almost completely caught up to them. The horses slowed down and the front riders turned around to see why the others stopped them.

A young man approached them on his horse, glancing between her and Costia. "Costia?"

"Aden." Costia smiled, relieved that they had finally found them.

So this was the group Tris had told them about, Tris' brother Aden was in the middle of them. He shared some facial features, but his hair was blonde instead of brown. He held himself proudly on his horse, radiating a certain authority. He was tall and well-built, and Lexa guessed he was already a skilled fighter for his young age. The sword he carried on his back only added to her presumption.

Lexa's eyes glanced over the other members of Aden's group. The man next to Aden was also tall and quite muscular, his skin tone dark and his black hair was cut short. Still, there was something kind in his stare. His sword was secured in a strap on his horse.

On his right side was a girl with dirty blonde hair, braids artfully woven into it. There was an old cut above her right brow that seemed almost healed. Her hazel eyes looked sharply at them, fingers dancing readily on the dagger strapped to her thigh.

Right behind her was another man with unruly black hair, an old thin scar on his chin was strikingly on his right cheek. Just like the girl he had a dagger on him, his sword hanging proudly on his back and a bow was secured at his bag behind him.

One of the two front riders made their way over to them and came to a stop besides Aden, and Lexa's heart jumped wildly in her chest as she noticed that it was the blonde, blue-eyed girl from the market. She honestly never thought she'd see her again.

"What's the meaning of this, Costia?" The blonde asked confused, and Lexa shuddered at her husky voice.

"Something happened and we need the help of the rebellion. Anya and her friend, Lexa," Costia nodded towards her. "Are being hunted by the soldiers. It's crucial that they arrive safely at the rebellion compound."

The blonde's eyes moved over and Lexa could see something like recognition flash through them.

"Where is Anya?" Aden asked.

Costia lowered her head slightly, sadness filled her eyes. "She and your sister drew the attention of the soldiers who snuck up to us just before dawn to them so that we could escape."

"My sister?! Is she okay?"

"We don't know." Lexa replied, drawing the attention towards her. "They told us to catch up to you and to not look back. They'd follow after us."

Aden turned to the blonde. "We should head back! They may need our help."

"No," The girl exclaimed, immediately silencing Aden's protest. "That was days ago. There are so many possibilities as to what may have happened to them."

"I've met Anya before. And I know your sister, Aden. They are both skilled warriors. They can look after themselves." Finally the last rider of the group rode up to them from behind. She had long brown hair, brown eyes and olive skin.

Aden stared at his companions, obviously thinking about all possibilities. Finally he nodded, accepting the decision. "You're right. If there is someone I trust to find their way out of bad situations, it's them."

"So, I take it you two are at fault for the increase of soldiers throughout the kingdom?" The blonde asked.

"I'm afraid so." Lexa confirmed.

"Well, we know her," she nodded towards Costia. "But I believe we've never met before. At least not official." There was a glint in her eyes that told Lexa that she was thinking back at their brief meeting in Belona and the brunette felt the corner of her lips lifting slightly as she also thought back to the meeting. Suddenly, the future seemed to be brighter.

"My name is Lexa."

"I'm Clarke." She introduced herself, and Lexa was happy to finally get some names to the faces. "You already know Aden. Next to him is Nathan and the other guy is Marvin. Besides Nathan is Harper and this one next to me is Raven." Lexa nodded at them. "May I ask why you two are being hunted?"

"Let's just say I stumbled upon an old intrigue regarding Dante Wallace and now he wants me gone. Anya got me out of the castle." Lexa told them vaguely. For now it was better not to tell them that she was actually Princess Alexandria of Polis.

"Alright, we have time to talk more when we're farther away from Belona." Nathan stated.

"Right, let's move to a better place." Clarke led her horse around and started riding into the opposite direction of Belona. The others and Lexa and Costia followed her. For now, Lexa felt a little bit safer with the rebels on their side. She just hoped that Anya and Tris were okay.

* * *

 **I hope you liked it. I had fun writing it! Especially the Clarke/Raven interaction :)**


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